Thursday, February 23, 2017

Nauseous

I get really motion sick. I always have. Except when I was little, I'd go on roller coasters knowing they'd make me sick. I'd just get off the ride, throw up and then get back on and ride it again. Because when you're little, you're uninhibited and resilient like that. But, the older I've gotten, the more I fear feeling nauseous because it lasts all day and I can't shake it. Just thinking about being nauseous makes me feel like running to the toilet to get sick.

So, why would I even want to pole dance on a spinning pole? Guaranteed to make me feel nauseous. First and foremost, because pole dance looks so much more beautiful and dramatic when it spins. It allows the audience to see poses from more angles. And, you can pause, holding a pose while catching your breath and it doesn't look like you forgot your routine. It looks like part of it, which covers up mistakes better. Plus, for competitive pole dance there is a minimum of 30 seconds you must use a spinning pole in your routine. This is why I force myself to turn the screws in my static pole, converting it to spin mode from time to time. Even though I know I'm going to feel nauseated when I'm done. The only way to get over my motion sickness is to experience it.

The truth is, it's not that much different from how I feel most of the time these days. Since the election. I wake up, read the news and it starts. What did our abhorrent, temperamental, impulsive President say or do now? To whom? Then, I start to feel dizzy and sick to my stomach. How did we get here? I still don't understand it, no matter how many times the question whirls around in my head. And the fact is, knowing won't change anything right now. The world continues to spin. I've just got to acclimate myself. The thing is, with pole dance I can control the speed. But, I can't control the vortex of this whirlpool of fear and hatred that Trump is propagating.

No matter if the cause of my motion sickness is pole dance or the world spinning out of control, the solution is the same. Find a focal point to look at. It could be close or 4 years away. Open a window and let the breeze in to revive you. But, don't open a door and let the storm outside annihilate you. Curling up into a ball will only make you spin faster, making the situation worse. Instead, stretch your hand out, making yourself bigger and more substantial; thus, slowing down the momentum. And maybe helping someone else who's suffering from nausea in the process.

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About me

I'm Marie, author of the book, Rock the Kasbah: A Memoir of Misadventure. Not to be confused with the movie or Zooey Deschanel. I'm a forty-something writer, dancer, world traveler, wife and mother of four who moved back to Colorado from living abroad in Morocco a few years ago. Oh and did I mention I have some serious social anxiety? And that I screw things up a lot? Like a whole lot.